Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

Since Shangguan Lian was a powerful player who had quite good fighting skills, his state of mind and personality were quite good. When he saw that he had no hope in snatching the brocade box, he did not continue bothering Happy. He left without any reservations.

Happy had a good feeling about him and a deep impression because of it.

If Shangguan Lian had been as much of a rascal as the sect master of Heaven Domination Sect and continued to bother him just because he had some abilities, he might truly pose a great threat to Happy.

Happy remembered his name and decisively sent him a friend request.

“Friendships are forged in fire, why don’t we be friends?”

“Hah! Alright! Friend, I wish you a safe journey!”

Shangguan Lian answered swiftly. He agreed to the request, and a messenger pigeon flapped its snow-white wings to appear in front of Happy. The simple words telling him that his request had gone through showed that Shangguan Lian was a free and unrestrained soul that was unique to wandering swordsmen.

Happy put away the letter and smiled slightly before he picked up the brocade box that was not far away from him. He checked the map, and the relaxed expression on his face vanished to reveal a slightly grave and bitter smile.

If a person gained something, they would also lose something. That was indeed true.

Once Master Xuan Kong left, Happy lost his safe haven.

It was an unexpected surprise that he was able to solve the exquisite Go game and receive the Ten True Dragon Styles. That reward was even better than the rewards he could gain from the brocade box, but he could not bear the thought of giving up on the brocade box which he had stalked for so long.

Besides, there were hundreds of thousands of martial artists from everywhere gathered in Mount Song. Once word got out, the never-ending mountain ranges would definitely be searched through thoroughly.

If he wanted to deceive the world and leave Mount Song, it would be very difficult.

“Ah, I’ve become greedy,” Happy mocked himself.

During the three years he played the game in his past life, he never obtained an ultimate martial art that was better than high-tier martial arts. Right then, by a stroke of luck, he had solved the exquisite Go game and received the martial art Master Xuan Kong had created himself—Ten True Dragon Styles.

And based on Happy’s plans, he would be able to gain Shifting Stars, which was an ultimate martial art the Murong Clan would not teach to outsiders. Logically speaking, the fortuitous events he ran into in this life were much better, but he still could not give up on the unknown treasure contained within the small brocade box. He was indeed a little too greedy!

However, a human’s curiosity was endless.

Also, during the storyline quest that led to banditry running rampant in the game in his past life, he missed the chance and did not show his abilities. Now that he had a chance to do everything over, he, too, had the ambition to prove himself and make a name for himself.

Furthermore, Shifting Stars was a technique that was more suited for group fights, because it was a technique that became strong if the enemy was strong. It was unlike Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm[1], which was based on fierce and strong skills and equipped with brutal methods to kill right from the start.

Also, Happy only had one style available to him right then from Ten True Dragon Styles. It was not enough for him to sweep through the lands. Hence, he absolutely did not want to give up on the brocade box!

Where could he go to safely avoid the pursuers for the final half day with the brocade box?

Happy left his original spot in a flash while swiftly sweeping through the areas on the map, looking for a place which no one knew or could easily approach.

As a veteran who had stayed in Mount Song for years, Happy was very familiar with most of the quests in the area. He also knew many of the places.

Hence, he soon determined two rather suitable areas where he could hide.

One was Bodhidharma Cave, which was a place Shaolin Disciples did not dare to step foot into or even draw near as of then. It was also known as Repentance Cliff.

The terrain there was out-of-the-way and difficult to access. It was even difficult for birds to get there, and it was abnormally bleak and arduous inside. It was rumored that the place was where Founder Bodhidharma isolated himself to train. The walls had the high-tier martial arts Bodhidharma Qi Cultivation Technique and Bodhidharma Sword Technique, which Founder Bodhidharma had created himself and personally carved on the walls.

Happy remembered that once Bodhidharma Cave was discovered, a commotion had stirred for a period of time, especially when the elders of Shaolin Temple personally proved the place’s existence. Countless Shaolin Disciples had rushed to that place and nearly flipped over all of Bodhidharma Cave. Only later did they come to a realization that if they wanted to find Founder Bodhidharma’s real murals, they would need to meet a set of harsh requirements.

Not only would they need to have 99 points in Comprehension, they would also need to be very well-versed in Buddhist scriptures and zen rituals. They also had to be kind and persistent. It was only when they fulfill all those requirements that they could transmit Buddha’s voice and proceed to discover the peak of Bodhidharma’s martial arts!

But Bodhidharma Cave was located at Punishment Mount!

There were many monks who broke their Buddhist vows locked up in there. They had committed crimes in the world of martial artists and dyed their hands in blood, but did not repent their actions. Those monks were not just vicious, but their martial arts were great, and most of them were powerful people who had reached a certain level of skill.

The monks who had broken their Buddhist vows were separated from Bodhidharma Cave by Iron Chain Bridge, but they were all nearby. The bridge was right next to the cave in hopes that Founder Bodhidharma’s Buddha’s Cave would be able to enlighten the monks who broke their Buddhist vows so they would put down their weapons, repent on their own, and walk down the path of Buddha.

Since the monks who broke their Buddhist vows were all above Mystical Realm on average and since Iron Chain Bridge was easy to defend but hard to attack, Happy naturally considered it as a sanctuary.

The other place was the Eighteen Bronzemen Matrix that stood alone behind Shaolin Temple.

It was the most famous quest in Shaolin Temple when it came to providing the quest clearers with rewards. Of course, the difficulty was incredibly high. As the level of the matrix increased, the rewards would also become better.

During the three years of his past life, the Shaolin Disciple with the highest clear record had reached the eleventh bronzeman.

This was because with every two bronzemen they cleared, the bronzemen’s qi realm would increase by a realm, and in relation to that, their combat abilities would also increase by leaps and bounds, perhaps even by several fold. Hence, with every two bronzemen anyone cleared, the difficulty of the matrix would increase, making the bronzemen harder to deal with.

Once they reached the eleventh bronzeman, the bronzemen’s qi realm would reach the legendary Inaction Realm. It came after Moksha Realm, and the people in this realm would have no desires. They could execute their skills easily and bring about miracles by turning something bad into something beautiful.

At the same time, their bodies would become as hard as steel. Even if those in Moksha Realm had high-tier martial arts printed on their bodies, their attacks would feel like blows from a fly on those in Inactive Realm. Those in Moksha Realm would not be able to affect them in the slightest.

The Bronzemen Matrix was a matrix was open for all Shaolin Disciples, and it was a quest that provided them with rewards.

But when outsiders entered, it was a defensive mechanism!

It was the same procedure, but when a Shaolin Disciple tried to clear the matrix, they would gain a reward if they won, while if they lost, they would only be sent out with a lot of whacks on their bodies.

But if an outsider lost in the matrix, the eighteen bronzemen would not show any pity and would kill the outsider without hesitation. This feature intimidated and provoked many of the martial artists to challenge Shaolin Temple’s Bronzemen Matrix.

When Happy thought it over, he gave up on the idea to enter the Bronzemen Matrix behind Shaolin Temple. He changed his direction and headed to the most dangerous cliff in Mount Song—Punishment Mount!

*****

Soon after Happy left, a group of people appeared at the spot where he had been.

Li Heng, the vice sect master of Heaven Descendants Sect, led around ten people to the empty ground like a flash of lightning. From a distance, he already noticed corpses of Blessed Realm players scattered all over the ground!

When he saw that there were around ten players who had fallen in the shape of a circle, he furrowed his eyebrows, but there was no surprise on his face.

Since he allowed those players to get ahead of him, he naturally had a plan to find the person who seized the brocade box.

Rustle!

A show-white messenger pigeon appeared on Li Heng’s shoulder. He said nothing and took it down to unfold the letter and read it. Then, he looked in the direction in which Happy had disappeared.

“After him!”

With the order, his people ran into the forest.